Tottenham put sale plans in place as Sandro Tonali jets in for medical - expert
Tottenham Hotspur are set to need significant sales to balance out their wage bill once their move for Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali goes through.
That is according to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the Lilywhites will already be planning sales to rebalance their squad after some expensive deals.
The North Londoners confirmed the signing of Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for £85million on Thursday, and Tonali is now jetting into London for his medical ahead of a £100m switch.
Wyness believes that part of Spurs' early summer spending can be attributed to the club benefitting from the Lewis family netting £55m from a sale of their art collection.
Tottenham are on the verge of breaking their transfer record to sign Tonali, who will sign a six-year deal as part of the move.
Arsenal previously pulled away from their pursuit of Tonali due to his lofty wage demands, and they are expected to have a significant impact on Spurs as well.
Keith Wyness: Big Tottenham sale to follow Sandro Tonali deal
Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Tonali is a hugely exciting capture for Tottenham.
He labelled the Italian as a "very attractive player" for Roberto De Zerbi and Co., and noted that they were right to "push the boat out" for him.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, he warned that exits are now inevitable in order to balance the wage bill and the spending.
"Spurs are going to have to sell somebody, and try to rebalance their squad, but listen, he's a very attractive player for them, and they're putting together some good additions at the moment," Wyness said.
"They had another £100m cash injection coming in from the Lewis family after they sold their artwork for a bit more than they expected. They got about £55m more than they expected for their art collection.
"Part of that has gone to Spurs, and they may need to sell a few more pictures if they're going to keep on going with Tonali and those sort of things.
"He's a big addition, but I think at that level they're going to have to sell somebody as well to start balancing the squad financially, but he would be somebody that you'd want to push the boat out for."
Lucas Bergvall to lead Tottenham exodus
Former Manchester City financial advisor Stefan Borson recently told Football Insider that Lucas Bergvall could provide the start of an exodus at Tottenham this summer.
The football finance expert emphasised that there will be "a lot" of player trading at Spurs this summer, as they look to overhaul the squad that almost got them relegated last term.
Bergvall has already made his desire to leave clear, while the futures of Cristian Romero, Archie Gray, Luka Vuskovic and Richarlison are also firmly up in the air at the moment.
De Zerbi is pushing to build a new squad in his image, and there is no shortage of candidates for lucrative sales in the coming weeks.